Digital Sustainability: A Managerial Guide

Digital Sustainability: A Managerial Guide to Creating Value for Business and Society As digital transformation reshapes industries and sustainability moves to the centre of strategic decision-making, organisations face an urgent question: not whether to pursue sustainability, but how to do so in ways that are credible, scalable, and economically viable. This book introduces Digital Sustainability as a powerful managerial framework — one that treats digitalisation and sustainability not as competing agendas, but as mutually reinforcing forces for value creation. Drawing on rigorous research and real-world cases, it equips managers and executives with the tools, language, and roadmap needed to build organisations that generate economic value while advancing environmental and social outcomes. At the heart of the book is the Digital Sustainability Index (DSI) — a practical framework built around four organisational capabilities: Orientation, Digital Maturity, Partnerships, and Governance. Together, these four pillars enable leaders to assess where their organisation stands, identify capability gaps, and chart a clear pathway to greater impact. The book also introduces four archetypes of digital sustainability maturity — Experimenters, Explorers, Strategic Players, and Leaders — offering tailored guidance for organisations at every stage of the journey. Each archetype is brought to life through case studies that illuminate the challenges and breakthroughs that define progress. Covering topics from AI, cloud, IoT, and blockchain to ESG governance, ecosystem collaboration, and responsible technology, the book provides a comprehensive yet actionable guide for the digital age. It closes with an Executive Action Framework designed to help leaders translate insight into measurable, sustained change. Written by leading academics and an industry executive with global reach, this book is essential reading for managers, strategists, and executives who are ready to fuse digital strategy with sustainability — and lead their organisations into the future.